Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Discipline is the life breath of man. For all human beings, it is like the backbone. Discipline means following certain rules and regulations implicitly. Without discipline, there can be no well-being (Na shreyo niyamam vina). Humanness cannot survive in the absence of rules and regulations.

Discipline cannot be acquired from books, nor can it be taught by a teacher. Discipline should become a habit in one's daily life in carrying out one's duties. It is necessary for every community, every society, every race, and every country.

Even in the field of politics, discipline is very much necessary. Discipline is essential for every society, organization, and political system. It is discipline that brings about unity between people, in society, and between societies. Therefore, discipline is the hallmark of human life.

It is essential to follow discipline not only in our speech but also in games, sports, and other activities. When singing, even though there are many people singing in the chorus, they should all sing at the same pitch. If each person sings in a different pitch, it will not be pleasing to the ear. Therefore, singing with the chorus requires great discipline. While playing games, the referee tells the players to follow certain rules. Every player, including the captains of the teams, should follow these rules implicitly.

Since there is a lack of discipline in every aspect of human activity, life has become a nightmare. Therefore, like business, agriculture, and so forth, people who occupy positions of authority should also follow discipline and should not misuse their power. Just because they have a pen in their hand, they should not exercise authority. Since the tongue has no bone and can be twisted in any manner, one should not speak as one pleases.

Observe appropriate limits in your writing and speech. Therefore, take proper care while writing something. The only way to safeguard your position is to follow proper discipline. When you follow discipline, you do not need any other protection.

Discipline is also necessary for walking, sitting, and even laughing. The proper way of walking is to walk on the pavement without disrupting the traffic. On the other hand, by not following traffic discipline, you would not only violate the law but can also cause harm to others. Therefore, it is said: Help Ever, Hurt Never. Observance of discipline should be started at an early age. Start early, drive slowly, and reach safely.

Discipline is absolutely necessary for students. In fact, it is also necessary for officers, teachers, and all citizens. When you come across your elders, know how to offer respect to them. Always sit in a proper posture, keeping in mind in whose presence you are sitting. Even in such small matters, follow proper discipline.

When small children sit, they tend to sit with their backs bent like a bow. They should not bend their spine in this manner. They should sit properly, keeping their spine straight. In this way, you can attain concentration within a short time.

Our spinal column encases the central nerve (sushumna nadi). When you keep the spine straight, the spiritual power (kundalini shakti) located at the base of the spine, represented by the form of a serpent, will rise and reach directly to the thousand-petaled lotus in the head (sahasrara chakra). Kundalini is not a serpent; it is a type of energy, and it rises upwards, crossing all the chakras in the spine. That is why people who practice yoga sit straight. This is a very good practice. It gives you memory power and develops the power of concentration. Therefore, sitting is also a great discipline.

In order to follow this discipline properly, certain purifications are necessary. First, purify your body. It is not mere cleaning of the body with soap and water. It is only the good deeds that can purify it. You should purify your mind with good thoughts. When the body and the mind are purified in this manner, the intellect will always remain pure.

What is the primordial sound that emerges from the body? Aham, Aham, Aham (I am). From where does this 'I am' (aham) emerge? It emerges from the Atma (Self). The mind is born out of this 'I am' (aham). Speech is born out of the mind. Therefore, this 'I' is the son of Atma; the mind is the grandson, and speech is the great-grandson. Hence, the great-grandson, the grandson, and the son all belong to the same family of Atma. Therefore, the mind should be as pure as the Atma. Likewise, speech should also be as pure as the mind.

At times, we go back on our word. There is no greater sin than this. Emperor Bali said, "Is there a greater sin than going back on one's own word?" Therefore, protect the purity of your speech.

To begin with, we should purify our body with the right actions. From the time we arise in the morning till we go to bed, we should follow strict discipline. We should observe discipline in eating also. We should eat only as much as is necessary. When we eat in excess, we will suffer from indigestion. But many a time, we don't observe this discipline and do not pay heed to the inner voice.

Before meals, we chant this prayer:

When you pray in this manner before you partake of your food, God immediately responds thus:

But you eat much more when the food is tasty. Then the digestive fire present in your stomach starts cautioning you repeatedly, "Be careful. Do not put anymore." But you do not listen to this. You go on loading your stomach with tasty food items. Ultimately, you get an upset stomach and suffer. Therefore, you should observe proper discipline in eating.

An unhealthy stomach is the root cause of all diseases in the body. That is the way to bring proper discipline in eating; follow this discipline every day.

Whatever you do from dawn to dusk, perform all your activities with proper discipline. Be it worship or walking or sitting or eating, everything should be done in a disciplined way. Then your life will become exemplary. Discipline in whatever you do is verily karma yoga (the path of action). This karma yoga will lead to perfection in action. Man has the right only to perform action. We should always keep ourselves engaged in action. What type of actions should you perform? Perform actions within limits. From the time you wake up in the morning till you go to bed at night, always follow discipline. Obey the divine command. Whatever discipline you observe in your daily life, never give it up. Then only you can call yourself truly educated.

What is the meaning of vidya (education)? What does 'vid' mean? It means knowledge — jnana. This is the path for attaining knowledge.

Do not be proud of your bookish knowledge, thinking you have read so many books. Join both your hands in reverence and offer your salutations to the Lord. This is the first step in spirituality.

What is the meaning of bringing the ten fingers together? It means namaskar (respectful salutation). It connotes the unity of everything. The Atmic principle, in reality, is one. Therefore, namaskar has great significance in the field of spirituality.

Namaskar has a deeper meaning: "Na-mama," meaning "I am not." It signifies the destruction of ego. Mama means "mine." Na-mama means "not mine." Therefore, true namaskar means the surrender of the ego.

People today do not know what discipline really means. Nor do they know what sense control means. Your eyes see anything and everything. You should tell your eyes, "Oh eyes! What are you looking at? Do not look at anything that is bad." Therefore, think good, do good, be good, see good, and speak good. You should develop the discipline to follow this noble path.

Let people talk to you in any manner, but you should exercise control in your speech. Students! Even birds and animals observe certain discipline. But people who are highly educated and intelligent do not observe any discipline. You can see this yourself. There are monkeys near your hostel and college. Every day, they observe silence for at least one hour. Even birds observe silence for an hour. But poor humanity! The tongue gets no rest, even for a minute! The tongue keeps making noise all the time like a drum. It does not observe silence at all. On the other hand, we make fun of those who observe silence.

Instead, we should follow this discipline of silence enthusiastically saying, "This person is observing silence. Let us also follow the same." There is immense greatness in observing control in speech. When you control your talk, you are able to control everything.

How is it that God gave so much power to the tongue? Our eyes have only the power to see and no other power. Similarly, our ears have the power to hear and no other power. The nose has no other power except the power to smell. But the tongue has both the power of speech and the power of taste.

We cannot attain divinity without discipline. If you follow a certain routine one day, and on the next day, you follow a totally different routine, that is not correct. Here is a small example. Suppose you do devotional singing (bhajans) or meditation every day at 6 o'clock in the morning or evening. Sometimes, you may have to go on a trip. During this travel, you may be on a bus at 6 o'clock. Some people say that you should not change the place and time of your spiritual practice. We should never forget our duty even if there occurs a change in the place. You may be on a bus, but 6 o'clock is 6 o'clock wherever you are. When you are on a bus at 6 o'clock, think about the place where you do bhajans at that time. Then your mind will reach that place. You need not go to the place; the place will come to you.

You should follow the discipline without a break. If you follow the discipline, the time and the place will come to you.

Good and bad emerge from us only. That is why it is said: As are the feelings, so is the result. Never brush aside things from Puranas as untruth without knowing their inner meaning. Take some time and get rid of your doubts and become free from worries.

Who are the authors of these Puranas? These are not written by ordinary writers. These are written by great saints and rishis like Valmiki and Vyasa. They were great scholars. There are no other scholars greater than them. Some people may call them untrue stories on the basis of their own feelings, but the reality is that they are true and nothing but the truth.

They set great ideals. They have not shown the wrong path to anybody, nor have they spoilt anyone. They show the path of truth. They are ideal texts. You should follow these ideal texts and make your life ideal. If you want to make your life ideal, talk less. Obey the command of God and follow discipline. Whatever the circumstances, never give up discipline. Truth is one. It is not as if there is one Truth for children and one for the elders. Truth is one for all. Truth is one, not two. God is one without a second (Ekameva adviteeyam Brahma). Truth is only one.

Do not be carried away by the vagaries of your mind. Put a check on your mind and bring it back when it wanders hither and thither. Direct your mind in such a way that it follows your command.

Whose slave should you become? Slaves of God. That is why Saint Ramdas sang, "Oh Lord! I should become the servant of Your servants. I should serve Your devotees. Right from dawn to dusk, I am Your servant. Not only that, I am the servant of Your servants." God is very broad-hearted. He does not have a narrow mind. No other person has such a broad heart. The broadness of God's heart is incomparable.

Divinity signifies the expansion of love. But people today suffer from the contraction of love. They have become narrow-minded. Till such a time, you will not experience total bliss. The day you start following Swami's command, from that very day, you will start experiencing nectarine bliss. I am always ready to confer bliss on you, but you are not ready to receive it.

When a photographer wants to take your photo, he will say 'ready' to alert you before clicking. You may move this side and that side before this, but when the photographer says, "Sir, ready," you should be steady. Only then will you have a good photo. Prior to that, it does not matter even if you move. You should be ready when he says 'ready.' We may be ready when the worldly photographer alerts us to be ready. But the divine photographer will not say, 'ready.' So, we should always be ready.

When will He click? We do not know! Only when you are always ready will your picture be imprinted in His heart properly. God is the greatest photographer. But He will not say, 'ready.' He may click at any moment. Therefore, always be ready. That is the quality of a true devotee.